Lost in Yonkers (film)

Lost in Yonkers
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Martha Coolidge
Written by Neil Simon
Based on Lost in Yonkers
by Neil Simon
Starring
Music by Elmer Bernstein
Cinematography Johnny E. Jensen
A. Troy Thomas
Edited by Steven Cohen
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • May 14, 1993 (1993-05-14) (United States)
Running time
 114 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $15 million[1]
Box office $9 million

Lost in Yonkers is a 1993 film adaptation of Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, directed by Martha Coolidge. It stars Irene Worth, Mercedes Ruehl, and Richard Dreyfuss. It was the first theatrical feature film to be edited on Avid Media Composer.

Plot synopsis

In 1942 in the Bronx, Evelyn Kurnitz has just died following a lengthy illness. Her husband, Eddie Kurnitz, needs to take a job as a traveling salesman to pay off the medical bills incurred. Eddie decides to ask his stern and forbidding mother, from whom he is slightly estranged, if his two early-teen sons, Jay and Arty (whom their Grandma calls by their full given names, Yakob and Arthur), can live with her and their Aunt Bella Kurnitz in Yonkers. His mother refuses at first but reluctantly agrees after Bella threatens to leave her if the boys aren't allowed to stay.

Despite their Grandmother owning and operating a candy store, Jay and Arty don't like their new living situation. They are afraid of their cold and distant Grandmother and find it difficult to relate to their crazy Aunt Bella, whose slow mental state is manifested by perpetual excitability and a short attention span, which outwardly comes across as a childlike demeanor. Into their collective lives returns one of Eddie and Bella's other siblings, Louie Kurnitz, a henchman for gangsters. He is hiding out from Hollywood Harry, who wants what Louie stole and is hiding in a small black bag.

Jay and Arty's mission becomes how to make money fast so they can help their father and move back in together, which may entail stealing the $15,000 their Grandma has hidden somewhere. Bella's mission is to find a way to tell the family that she wants to get married to Johnny, her equally slow movie theater usher boyfriend; the two could also use $5,000 of Grandma's hidden money to open their dream restaurant. Louie's objective is merely to survive the next couple of days.

Cast

Broadway play

After eleven previews, the Broadway production, directed by Gene Saks, opened on February 21, 1991 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 780 performances. The original cast included Jamie Marsh, Irene Worth, Mercedes Ruehl, and Kevin Spacey.

References

Notes
    References
    • Roger Ebert (14 May 1993). "Lost In Yonkers". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
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